Akel Ackie, 25, is expected to be sentenced to 37 years after pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child today in Passaic County Superior Court, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said in a statement.

Ackie will be required to serve at least 29 years before he is eligible for parole. He will also be under lifetime parole, and will have to register as a sex offender after his release.

He was caring for the 21-month-old girl at her home in March 2010 when he assaulted her, calling an ambulance after she began having trouble breathing. The girl was unresponsive when first responders arrived, and she was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital in Paterson.

Doctors determined that she had suffered a serious brain injury, and pronounced her dead three days later. An autopsy later determined that the girl had also been sexually abused.

Since his arrest, Ackie has been held in the Passaic County Jail on $1.5 million bond. He will return to court to be sentenced later this year.